Wait a minutes are you taking the place of that psychic who use to be on tv and then she got in trouble. What was her name.Oh yea, Miss Cleo.
That will be a good job.
You have had a busy day. Take care of your daughter

Sometimes being allowed “to mingle with the young people” makes you feel like you’ve landed on an alien planet. I appreciate it when they “put up” with us!

I hope your daughter is recovering. It’s no fun to have your wisdom teeth removed. My college-aged daughter is consulting with a oral surgeon this week for a similar procedure. I don’t know what the newest recommendations are for care of extracted wisdom teeth, but I’ve always heard that you should put damp tea bags at the site of the extraction. Sounds yucky, but I’m told it works.

Regarding the new job, change is GOOD!

I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth removed in the same sitting by Dr. Kevorkian. That was before he got the bright idea to print his t-shirts, which say, “I Survived Dr. Kevorkian’s Gas”. I had a filling replaced last week and another is scheduled for replacement this Wednesday. Just getting the ol’ choppers ready for Halloween. Before last week, I had not been to the dentist in 6 years…that’s how much I hate it. Novacain never numbed me enough to not want to rip the arms off the dentist chair. The new anesthetic they use is a lot better. Good news, though, no new cavities! I hope your lil’ girl gets over it quickly. Tell her to stay away from straws.

Joe, hope your daughter’s feeling okay & the both of you take good care of eachother. I’ve ignored the dentist for a very long time, ever since I got my braces off in late jr high. I still remember Dr. Lampros telling me no matter how much I tried in that chair, as I tried to push back as hard as I could, that there was ‘no way’ I was going to make it to the basement! “KH” lol, and the sweaty hands made you keep losing your grip?

And Wow Joe, the Job sounds very interesting ! I will say right now, this involves helping people, I’m sure. Aren’t you going to tell us first?
I know you’re not going to be a psychic, but funny you mentioned that .. I’m actually going to see one near the end of the month with a few friends who’ve done this every year. I’m going out of curiosity & they won’t even know my name. The schedule is kept by someone else. Call me crazy but I’m all for something new, even just to try it once. I’ll have to let yall know if interested & if I can AND if I believe it.

We gotta all dream big (and hopefully) go after it once we set our minds to it. It’s nice when you can think sometimes “it doesn’t get better than this” and then say “but it did” and it does for alot of people. Best of luck to you.

OH, y’all want funny? Two and a half men on at 9:00. (watch it not be funny tonight since I mentioned it~~) it usually is. And it’s gonna be hot again tomorrow. WOO HOO

It sounds like The Joe is already thinking about his reasons why he might not show at the Coda on the 24th. There’s no pressure; but, what’s a ‘do’ without you? just wondering…

Moi? Looking for reasons not to show? Only shyness. I don’t enjoy, you know, being in the center of things…

File this under tips for your daughter to cope with wisdom teeth extraction. When I was in college (a while back) I scheduled my WTE for the week of Thanksgiving, not recommended. Here’s how I got through it…good pain meds, (take as prescribed), and banana milkshakes made at home in the blender with really ripe bananas, skim milk, lowfat yogurt and sprinkle in nutmeg and cinnamon. All of these ingredients have important nutrients….enjoy.

My daughter has done gone back to school. She didn’t want to miss any classes. Who says the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree?

Pamela, that sounds delicious !! and my dinner is still in the misrowave that I may or may not eat, but now I’m hungry!
Joe, we promise to leave you alone and let you mingle & promise not to ‘clap’ when you walk thru the door. LOL
Will there be a sign outside of the Coda that will read ” Sorry, closed due to the Cuppa Joe Blog Fans”??
You better hurry & get to the post office to send us our passes!

Your daughter must be a tough girl. Hope she made back to Tech ok. I am sure it is hard to make up your work when you miss a day or two. I know when I am on vacation and when I come back, sometimes I have forgot how to do my job. I think this is a age thing. I have to write things down now. So Joe you have a lot going on now. With your writing for the City magazine. your new job coming up and the NY trip soom, you do not have much time to be bored now. Enjoy being off cause soon you will be back to the grind like the rest of us poor folks but yours will be new and exciting.
Take care and glad your daughter is doing good. Kids bounce back a lot faster than us. How is your back?

She’s pioneer stock, Joe!!!

Shyness…. hmmmmmmmmmm…. I guess this means no big, huge WELCOME JOE! banner???

My 84 year old Dad has, through the years, attached himself to television shows here and would piss and moan about their demise for months after “his show” was cancelled. When I was very young, his favorite show was “COMBAT!” which was aired on ABC. Roanoke had only CBS/NBC stations but Lynchburg had an ABC station that brodcast that show. Now, in Blacksburg we could only pick up the Lynchburg ABC station when it rained or snowed (atmospheric conditions helped the signal???) but for the most part we could only pick up the sound and no picture…. just a gray/snowy screen with sound. But, bless his heart, he’d sit there in front of it listening to the show with no picture.

Through the years he moved on to other shows…. “WKRP in Cincinnati” was one and then, of course there was “All in the Family” with Archie Bunker’s personality coming veryyyyyyyy close to my father’s personality. Spooky.

Now at 84 his favorite, Katherine, is “2 1/2 Men.” Now this gentleman has 976 channel choices on his satellite network and he knows every single channel that shows “2 1/2 Men” and when it is televised!!! When my step-mother died in July, I spent a week with him and probably watched that show a dozen times.

My name is Mary…. and I’m a closet “Dog the Bounty Hunter” and “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” watcher. I’m doomed!

what happend to the Irish bar. I want to try Harp Beer. Can you buy this at the store?

You can buy Harp at Kroger at Cave Spring, at Cave Spring Corners and, I feel certain, at both Towers and Tanglewood, just because of their neighborhood.

Don’t buy Harpoon, make sure it’s Harp.

They need to improve their beer at Coda, I think. It’s mostly (gaaaak) German.

Mary, HA !!!

My Dad is close to 80 years old and a very young one at that! 2&1/2 men is one of his favorites too and just like your dad, he has a million channnels on satellite and knows the reruns also. And how I remember watching Archie Bunker with him and nearly fall out of his seat laughing so hard. Also Geoige Jefferson.. Now HE reminds me of my Dad, LOL

Gotta tell this little story.. speaking of TV. Baywatch used to have reruns on during the day (they might still?) He had a new baby boy in his 60s and he’d be there watching some with him. I guess he was about one or two yrs old when they were standing in a grocery store check out line and there was a lady behind them obviolusy built in a tight top… he looks at Dad and points to her and says “Dad, Baywatch”! omg that was so funny! Dad cracked up laughing and so did the woman!
I haven’t seen Gene Simmons in a while and isn’t that bounty hunter guy the blonde muscle man with the big wife? I think I’ve enjoyed looking at his arms a time or two, or more.

And Annette, I would advise you not to buy the dark guinness, it’s very strong tasting, but you might like it (?). I too, was thinking this beer fest would be somewhere else. If you want one on draft, I’ll meet you at Annie Moores one afternoon if no one else will.

So Joe, can you still choose from a variety at Coda? Do they have Mich Light?

Hey, NOW you’re talking about the good stuff! And I’m talking about a GOOD German Marzen…not that other wimpy stuff. I glad to hear Coda has excellent taste.

Now see, you have digressed into the beer talk again. And I was going to behave and have a latte and a brownie there.

DUH! Hello everybody.. before I take off I have to mention something here,

As I was going thru the old papers piled up in a xtra room (I barely glance at the paper on occation).. WaLah, I see the article on ‘Coda’ in Sunday’s business section. It’s more of a coffee shop that I thought!

Where is Lance being held? How can we help free him? I bet Coda would be happy to have some Harp on hand for those who want the beer experience. Joe, could you take care of this? Me, I will just have hot tea…better for my brain cells, not that there’s anything wrong with an adult beverage every now and again. We could put balloons out front on the iron fencing at Coda announcing the celebration. just a thought…

thanks. I will try and get some this weekend. Does Coda have any regular beer, like Miller or Bud. I saw the newspaper article on the owners of the Coda. That was nice. It is funny, never heard of that place until you mentioned it and then it was in the paper.

Annette

I tell you, they’re stealing my ideas. Examples abound. They owe me at least a beer every time they do it.

Me? Do some groundwork for my own party?

Pam,
First we need to know how many people SAY they’ll show up, then figure out how many WILL show up, then find out how many want Harp, then find out if the ABC laws allow Bob to re-sell beer or if the brands are specified on the license.
I have no idea about that.
Plus I’m going away plus, uh, the boat wasn’t ready after I drove all the d–n way to the lake today, so I’ll have to go back, plus I have to do a freelance story tomorrow.
Oh, that’s right, I’m retired.
Well, let’s get a guest list and go from there. I’m guessing six people will show up. Ya think?

The Irish bar is still in play, in my humble opinion. I like Coda better, though, because Annie Moore’s is primarily a restaurant with a bar, whereas Coda is more casual despite the German beer.
First, a list of who might come. Put me down … in invisible ink. Ha ha. Just kidding.

I think I see what you are doing, Joe…name two places for folks to come, meet and greet, move on to the hipper party…more and better refreshments…livelier conversation, more yuk-yuks…you are sly…

Katherine,
we can meet for a Harp at Annie’s Moore’s anytime. I told my niece about it and she lives down the street from there. She has been there several times. I told her we might have this fest there and she said she would go with me. But I told her we were going somewhere else and she is a nurse and she just got her schedule and has to work that night. So anywhere is fine with me. I can drink a regular beer. Have you tried the Amstel light yet? Good stuff.
Pam, put me down for Coda or anywhere else and I will bring one friend or make my daughter come. Do not like coming by myself.
Joe, I tell you I think people who are retired are busier than people who work.

Actually, Pamela, you’ve only half uncovered the plot. I plan to send somebody in my place — all us skinny old white-bearded guys look alike — and he’ll tell me whether either party is worth attending. Then I’ll decide either to go or stay home and watch a reality show on MTV.

There’s a reality show concept…tell various people of various locations and then film everyone watching for The Joe, good ol’ Joe, ol’ buddy, ol’ pal Joe to show at his own todo over how he can write and type at the same time, veerry clever, you are, she said, smiling….

Boat? Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t beer taste better when it is consumed while leisurely floating along in the water?

I will be where ever the party is on the 24th. I am a yes.

Joe can be the new bachelor and pick the women or man and the beer he wants and send the rest packing. This could be a good reality show.Joe the new bachelor on WSLS coming soon

Okay you guys, put me down on the list. I live near 460 but I can still have at least two ‘beers’ before my longer drive back home.. at least it’s a week night. Guess I’ll be trying something new again & I’ll look forward to it.

MdM, YES .. this was a Harp beer fest to begin with and I really liked the idea of the waterfalls (& the beautiful bathrooms in the caves somewhere?) outside near Eagle Rock !! Just remember, you all have to still visit the Pub in Lewisburg sometime this fall.. oh yes, it’s already fall.. so you better get on the ball with planning. It’s beautiful there!

ANNETTE,
I’m glad I checked mail before heading back out to get groceries. I lost my note on the Amstel lite.. I’m putting it on my list! It’s suppose to be pretty tomorrow.. and as we’ve mentioned before ~~ it doesn’t take me long to plan something right now. Soooo, what about tomorrow, Wednesday, say 4:00 or 4:30 @ Annie Moore’s? You can have your Harp on draft … my treat! I’ll check back later to see your response.
And I hope MS Elenaeous is still checking in.. it would be nice to have her attend Coda too. No responses here from the guys as in male guys… Oh Joe, they must be chicken!

Pam, you getting the balloons? Hey got an idea.. you think they would let us plaster their windows ahead of time with previous columns from Cuppa Joe in the RT? Anyone saved them? LOL!! Joe, forget you saw this. (I know, that was dumb but I said it anyway) I gotta go.

Katherine, that’s a TERRIBLE idea, plastering the windows my old columns. Ay-yi-yi.
That was the Olde Me. You’re dealing with the New Me — happy, full of hope ha ha and, um, I don’t, fill in something else all touchy-feelie. Broke, or something.
Is tomorrow supposed to be cool temps, please say yes?
I notice some leaves stirring outside my window. ‘Course, they’re dead.

Okay, it looks like there are a gaggle of women who want to crowd around The Joe and help him with his back and pour Harp liquid stuff down his gullet and sweep up his leaves and cool him off by waving feather fans throughout the room while he relaxes in his Barco-lounger with lap top in lap so’s he can free Lance…

How about a very simple table sign with “Reserved for F.O.J.” printed on it. I will bring that if you like.

Touchy-feelie - - now THERE’S a topic we haven’t discussed!!! wait….. we’re semi-family oriented here….

I’ll behave.

Keep talkin’. I feel my resistance beginning to wane.

Mary in CHRISTIANSburg — the family-oriented rule is waived when we’re talking about me…

There you go, making up your own rules….and you’re so shy and all. What a brilliant disguise, your head shot at the top of the page.

We have Andrew to thank for putting my high school yearbook photo atop the page.

Pammy, my last girlfriend taught me only fools go by the rules. Taught me good.

Count me in, too! The sign is a nice touch, Mary. :)
Joe - tomorrow is transition day as far as the weather, it will be warm, but not hot. Thursday it will start to cool off. (Maybe I’ll be a meterologist when I grow up!) Anyway, it will be AWFUL if all the leaves drop off before they have a chance to change. As I was driving down 81 today, to pick up my daughter from college, I could see some of the trees were trying to change color. Maybe we’ll see some Fall after all. Maybe El Nino chased La Nina away!

‘Tis a pity.

I looked at the temperatures predicted for Cooperstown later this week and next: 50-55 during the day, 35-40 at night.

I’d better find my sweaters and stuff. Oh, and my Roanoke Times baseball hat. That’ll impress ‘em.

So when is trip. Later on this week. Glad you are going. The RT baseball hat will be the perfect thing to impress some of the greatest baseball players there. if only in spirit.Glad the weather is going to be so nice for you. Sounds like a great trip except if I was in NY I would have to go to NYC. Take some pictures if you can. I just bought my first digital camera a couple of months ago, and my pictures are still not good. I should have stuck with my APS 35 camera. So much better pictures

Hi Katherine, yes I’m still lurking and I hope to show up. What time are y’all thinking? I’ll be the one with the brown bag on my head so I can keep my anonymity ;)

where is your high school picture at?

Departure date is secret, to discourage stowaways.
Still haven’t fooled with my camera. The simple guidebook — the one you read before you read the complicated guidebook — overwhelmed me. Now Kat’s going to give me grief.

That’s it on the upper left.

That’ll make two of us wearing brown bags …

Cooperstown? JK, I thought you’d changed your mind about the trip! Can’t keep up with all y’all. Sorry about the boat. Drat. I’ve heard it said that a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money. That was my experience as well…but anyway. Nice when it all works.
+++
Weather out here in SF is definitely transitional and leaves are turning yellow, red, orange. I wish I could bottle up some of the cool breezes and send them back East to the FOJ bloggers…
+++
Coda is out for now. Maybe another time…y’all have fun, though. Rules is for fools!

are we brown bagging it.
great

Me, three. What, you don’t want stowaways in your cardboard suitcase? Just start using the camera and then read the book, much more fun that way.

Katherine
Lets do the Harp beer this weekend or next week. I have had a headache for 3 days

The picture of you in the upper left is your high school picture. You have had a rough life. LOL

Joe, you’re too funny and Pamela, I think I’ll pass on the sweeping of leaves and fanning Joe, I will have my hands full soon enough. And yes Joe… Just think of all the pictures you can take while on your trip if you know your camera.. Sorry but you “have to” read up on it first, then play with it, then figure out what you’re doing wrong.. go back & read your book again, take a few pics, download into your computer only to find your pic size is much too larhe, then go back & reread.. oh, it’s a lottafun!!!!

Annette, I didn’t hear an answer. Understand completely if it’s too late notice.. some other time is fine. AND after I finally got off the phone and made another emerg. trip for a friend, also adding to my grocery list.. I have plans to be in SW tomorrow anyway, feeding & taking care of some animals for a friend. And after seeing 2 people who wanted totalk @ the grocery store.. I finally made it back home to unload.
Sooooo, I put 2 Amstel lights in the freezer as soon as I brought them in, took the Harp & Mich light downstairs with the rest of some
other things. They had both at the Food Lion in Blue Ridge. Have yet to try the Harp in a bottle and I won’t tonight for sure as I say, this very minute, the Amstel is cold (almost froze over) and I like it very much!! That dark guinness I was talking about earlier.. it has something in the bottle that jingles when you drink it from the bottle.. HA.. I saved an empty bottle awhile back and plan to break open one day ‘with gloves on’ just to see what and why it’s there! Maybe I need to ask Andrea about that.. I’m just too curious about these things.

AND ( I know this is long, sorry) I’m so stocked up right now (as usual, I go overboard) and I’m still looking for one a friend recommended from Kansas.. Negra something?
Just come here for the beer fest so “I” won’t drink it all! If it was winter, snowing.. I am well stocked up! Alright, just kidding.
But Joe, I only mentioned the older articles so we could have our black magic markers to write over all of them, saying “We miss you”.. but you weren’t suppose to know that either.
And the boat? Ah Mary, yes it taste much better on the lake outside with good coolers full of ice! Oh gosh, I’m missing summer already.
MS E.. good to see you here! Looking forward to meeting you. And what was the time?.. 7:30?
Still, wouldn’t it be fun to have a pool table and ping pong table so we could all laugh at eachother when we used to play pretty good? oh Geez, have you all ever seen the Ping Pong challenges on TV lately? Are these people good or what??
Joe again, it’s a good thing you don’t have a “minimal word limit here! If that’s not how you spell it, you know what I mean~~ I just know I’m gonna 4get something and PS again…..

Didn’t The Saints football fans use to wear brown bags on their heads at one time? I think they called themselves “The Ain’ts”. Pretty funny.

Remember the printer I got and have yet to open? Well all this talk of camera’s, etc. got me to thinking about figuring it out. So, I asked my 14 year old to help me. Five minutes later, she was printing the first picture! Sometimes these kids are handy to have around!

Here is a lesson on the camera: Take it out of the box, (once you’ve done this, it gets easier) charge it, pick it up, look into it, find a subject, push down little circular button, press and hold, and voila! you have taken your picture! Believe me, if I can do this, so can you! The pics you take will enhance your Cooperstown travelblog! :)

ps.. ( I just knew it)

“touchy-feelie”?

The rule is waived…WooHoo,
okay, everybody start talkin!!

Well…I for one am not wearing a brown bag because I look AWWWful in brown. Maybe I should opt for the mauve La’De Da’ shopping bag!

I learned about my digital camera by playing with it and referring to the manual for troubleshooting until I got to the point that I could whip it out and take a photo and save or erase it. When I wanted to do more with it I sat down and studied the manual. Tip: Keep an extra battery(ies) and invest in a memory card. Suggestion: when you get home spend an afternoon downloading them on to your computer and then at a later date sort them into folders or play around with cropping and enhancing and all that fun stuff.

What I ab-so-LUTELY love to do is send the files online to Walgreens or Wal-Mart and then go pick them up a couple hours later. Click, send, pick-up - awesome. I gave up on printing at home because I wasted way too much photo paper and that stuff ain’t cheap.

Elena - Take me with you back to Bensonhurst! We’ll hunt down The Evil One and drag her back to Virginia. Did you know that there are places in the Great Dismal Swamp over on the other side of the state where people will simply disappear?!?!?!?! I need to know where your husband’s garage is - my ‘88 Towncar is in despirate need of a really GOOD mechanic!!!

free Lance…. Pamela I’ve giggled all evening about that. Somewhere on that “Reserved for F.O.J.” sign I have to put something about ‘free Lance.’ Someone is bound to ask “Who is Lance and what did he do?”

I’m going to bed before I throw in another comment related to touchy-feelies…. I promised to behave.

Night all

Katherine
I did write you back. I said lets do this either this weekend or next week. Have had a headache now 4 days. Its this weather. I want cold. weather. cold weather, cold weather, cold weather.

Joe, You mentioned that you were writing a freelance piece. Who are you writing for and what’s it about?

MK, I wish you could send some of the California weather this way (minus the smog). I’ve never been to California, but have always heard that SF is an awesome town. San Diego is rated pretty highly, too. Suppose to have the best tempertures. And I’ve heard that there are some fantastic seafood resturants on the bay there.

It’s a piece for City Magazine, thank you for asking. I can’t tell you what it’s about because then I’d scoop the magazine that’s paying me.
It’s fun to be out seeing people again, though.

The Where Joe has been… thread has turned into touchy-feely.

Nuttin’ wrong wif dat.

City Magazine, that’s great! I should know better then to ask what it is about. Can you say when it will be published?

Have notebook, will travel! We don’t want you to become a hermit! :)

Today is the day you should go do your boat thing at the lake, it’s glorious outside. I envy anyone who can be outside today, especially if it’s near a body of water!

Joe
Where do you buy City Magazine. I am no sure I have seen it around town. Are you going to keep this job also. Good luck on the story.

Annette,

I answered back too. I’m sorry you don’t see and now that I look again I don’t see it either??
I don’t know what happened.

You feel better, take care of yourself and another time for sure.

City Magazine is free and it’s all over the place downtown, especially on The Market. I imagine it’s outside of food stores and stuff elsewhere in the valley. It has seemingly EVERYthing that’s going on in these parts, including places like Floyd County and so on. I recommend it if you’re looking for things to do.

I imagine it’ll come out in November. That’s why I’m hurrying to get it done. Great fun but I’ll be pretty busy with my new job.

Joe…… are you going to give us any hints as to what this new job is or do we have to wait until the 24th?

Is the new job bigger than a breadbox?

I know from sources close to me that freelance can be fun as long as it doesn’t become a chore. It can become un-fun if you have 5-6 projects at one time, with deadlines all around the same time. Of course, since you now have your new job, freelance can be a fun thing, to do when you want and you aren’t dependent solely on it.

That’s exactly right. To have to run the business side of a half-dozen projects as well as the creative and logistical would be hellish. But taking two hours out of an otherwise free day to do it, two days a week, is unlikely to support your cat, much less yourself.
Plus, there’s the old been-there, done-that thing about writing v. learning new things, quickly. Your source is correct.

The 24th? What’s happening on the 24th?
I may not reveal it on the 24th. It’s up to the people I’m going to work for.
Bigger than a breadbox by far. We’re dating ourselves here, aren’t we? Do you have your blindfold in place?

Joe
Why do you have to be so mean to us. We are such sweet and sexy women. We are women, that is our nature. We have to know everything. Is it United Way, GoodwilL? Why cant you tell us. We promise we will not tell
Hush Hush.
Oh Joe, Please, pretty please

Katherine- we are losing it. Whoopee

Hey I am a blond? Why are you dating yourself?

Oh, boy, are we going to play parlor games? Wait a minute, charades doesn’t require a blindfold….

My grandmother had a breadbox that was built into her kitchen drawers. I use to love to go in it and get graham crackers when I was little.

Oh - - first he mentions touchy-feelies and THEN starts talking about blindfolds!!!!! I’m on the verge of blushing here!

Joe, I’m teasing you about revealing your new job. When the time comes, just let us know how we can volunteer to help the greater good.

Breadboxes are one thing but a bread DRAWER in the kitchen also goes way back! I had a bread box on my kitchen counter until 1992 when my ex-husband and I moved to South Boston, VA from Richmond, VA. It got lost in the move and I was heart sick because I’d purchased it in a yard sale in 1974 when went off to nursing school. It also had tin foil and waxed paper dispensers above the compartment for the bread.

I will not tell the story about getting my arm caught in the wringer of the washing machine out on the back porch when I was in college.

Now I’m feeling 10 minutes older than dirt… wait, I AM 10 minutes older than dirt!!!!

Blindfold? Sounds kinky.

I would like to clarify that I was a very YOUNG child when Grandma had her bread drawer. Actually, it was always there, even when I grew up, because my Grandparents lived in the same house for a very LONG time, until my Grandpa passed away. I still have the sense memory of all the delicious baked goods that she kept in that drawer. My grandmother also had a washing machine with a wringer on it when I was a very YOUNG girl.

What is your definition of “older then dirt”? I’m not sure if I fit in that category yet. I guess I’m hoping that I don’t!

Older than dirt? About 30.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Joe can you give Katherine my email address
thanks

Old as dirt = 30
Older than dirt = 40
10 minutes older than dirt = fiftysomethingorother
Dirt is part of life = 60’s
Dirty is good! = discussing touchy-feelies and blindfolds

This is what you get after a Peroni (ok…. well, 2 Peroni’s) and the most awesome linguini with red clam sauce on Earth.

if Older than dirt is 30 then we are all must be in the Older than mud category.

JK, Ya gotta love the dirt age. HA!

Safe travels. Take lots of photos and surely some will be good. Also, go on and take a sweater unless you plan to buy one there. No sense in freezin’ yer noogies off–it’s already cold in NY.

Movie alert: Zodiak. A well-made whodunit set in SF about real persons and places, and about the writer for the Chronicle who wrote the book.

We can hear Md. Mama saying no way back here in the holler….

Sure.

Peroni is Italian beer, right? It’s good. I’ve had it around here.

Peroni is Italian beer. Had it there. They serve it warm in Italy. Well, not cold anyway.

I’ve already checked the forecast, gonna be 50s during the day and high 30s at night. I’ll wear my Roanoke Times sweatshirt. That, with the RT baseball hat, will guarantee me a plaque in the hall, I think.

They’ll say, You spent 36 years at the ROANOKE TIMES? You poor guy — here, we’ll put up a plaque to make you feel better.

JK,
Thirty-six years? You deserve a medal

What is yer noogies?
Maybe I don’t want to know….

I let that slide. She has been pretty well behaved in the past. But I have her on my list.

Re: medal.
I’ll settle for a re-do.

All this talk of age and years and dirt and mud and beers, that come from countries that start with I, makes me want to go take a shower and drink some good German beer and cry!!

I guess I must be in the 10 minutes older than dirt, category….WAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Noogies is a polite word! It’s what little kids give each other on the heads….and it’s what we all freeze off in the winter time. Except in SF, of course, we drown in winter and freeze in summer, noogies and all.

What list?

Have a great trip and try not to think about us poor folks here in Roanoke doing nothing but working and it seems, thinking about beer. I never thought about beer so much since getting on your blog. I had not drank a beer since June. then this past weekend I bought a 12 pack. What a lush I have turned out to be. Are you going to Albany and to the Falls?. Now the falls are where I want to go. I love waterfalls and this is the big kahunah(spelled wrong) of them all.
Be safe and have a good time. Take pictures. We will look for you on ESPN when they give you your plaque

I’m confused…. which one of us is on the watchful eye list!

I think noogies, medically speaking of course, are anything on your body that you have a pair of…..

Now how’s that for PG-13!!!!!

Been to the falls when we were young and in love. Might go to Saratoga Springs, Glimmerglass State Park, but no plans, really.
I’ll try to remember y’all as I sit by the lake and ponder Life. I know for a fact it’s a good thing I’m going back to work at a good place, but I think these weeks off will be hard to forget. They’re like an unexpected bonus.

Sorry Mary in Cburg, I’ve forwarded your recent e-mails to Dr. Murphy and he wants you to navigate to his office at 9 in the morning. He mentioned a pink slip, and I don’t think he was talking about lingerie.

A pink slip- now that is funny Joe

When you take this life affirming trip…..you should go to new places and make new memories so as to avoid becoming all morose and melancholy and then finding yourself out on the highway all twisted up in your human coil…

Guy responds: “I washed the car.”
I respond: “What’s wrong with that?”

I’ve thought about this trip and a lot of others. Here are some reasons I chose Cooperstown.
1. Avoiding big cities.
2. Within a day’s drive (9-10 hours)of my kids.
3. Went there pre-children, didn’t spend a whole day, had a really sweet time — all good.
4. I like to remember the good things.
5. It’ll be interesting to see if I can manage the memories.
6. I just want to be anonymous at a place where there will be at least one thing that stirs me — and baseball does.

A friend of mine is a therapist who said he has to go to Richmond to relax. I felt that way at times when I was with the paper. I mean, we’d stay at a hotel at Myrtle Beach and see people we knew from here.
So this is an experiment. I can return at any time. I’d much prefer to go with someone I cared about, but clearly the universe is saying to me, “not now.”
It might not be a peak experience, but the point is to go. What do you think?

You have to do what your heart tells you.

Ha. I’m not trusting this heart any more.

I think Joe you are doing the right thing. It will probably stir up old memories and make you sad but also smile. You are doing something you have been thinking about and now you are doing it. I have had several friends that go on vacation by themselves and they have the best time. They seem to meet new people. This might be a peak experience but if not, then it is a experience and you will not forget it. You will have nice weather and hopefully the leaves will be turning. A nice trip before you start your new job and maybe new life. You can make this trip anything you want it to be. Just go with the memories and cry or laugh. This is what it is all about. Your emotions and dealing with things in the past and hopefully the future. May God bless you and keep you safe. Remember you are not alone. you have your faithful bloggers.

Go, but come back.

Go. There are big peaks and little peaks…. doesn’t matter how big a peak as long as the experience is a positive one.

I gave my pink slip to Goodwill ages ago and replaced it with a dandy leopard print slip!

That’s the plan, Annette. And Julie, I do plan to come back. If I don’t, send out the search teams. They’ll probably haul 600 guys who look like me out of bars between here and Cooperstown.
Meanwhile, I’ll be in my room, blogging.

Valleys are just peaks standing on their heads. The trip’ll be good for you, Joe. The air has finally turned cool and the leaves are gorgeous. And who knows? Maybe that someone special you haven’t found yet is sitting at a bar in Cooperstown (well, hopefully not right this minute), wondering why the man she’s been looking for hasn’t walked through that door yet. It would be a shame to miss that chance, don’t you think?